Worth It
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: All it took was a thunder storm and some awkward silence for him to realize it, but Gajeel gets it now. Levy's the one. - One-shot.


Worth It

Gajeel had had his fair share of women during his time at Phantom Lord. A nice share. It was almost funny, really, how easily duped some women were. No matter how many told the tales of his darker side and interests much less the ways that he definitely wasn't the kind of guy to stay entertained for long, it was never really hard for him to find one, if only for a night or two, until the need went away.

His time there was great, really, in that way.

That all changed though, when he joined Fairy Tail. For, honestly, an assortment reasons, really. The first and most important was, well, he was trying to get in good with them for one. Messing around with all the women in the guild wouldn't have reflected well. And, apparently, you tear down one little guildhall, kidnap one team member, and hurt one master then you're a bad person. Psst. Whatever.

As much as he hated to admit it though, a lot of it also had to do with Levy.

Not so much that he was interested in her really, at first. Or, well, of course he was, but no more he was any of the other women in the guild. She just happened to be the most approachable out of all of them. And, honestly, the least psychotic.

For the longest time, Gajeel wouldn't allow himself to pay much thought to it. Sure, he liked her more than he did any of the other members, but that was because they were all morons. Except for his kitty, when Lily finally joined the mix, but before that, Gajeel could have and would have done without all of them, had Juvia not asked him to join. Even she was pretty horrible after they became Fairy Tail members, if only because of all her Gray drama constantly.

No, Levy was the best out of all of them. For him anyways. She was low maintenance, was more helpful than hurtful and, honestly, her worst quality was Droy and Jet. If they counted. It was easy for him and her to become friends, really, considering.

And that's all they were at first. Honest. Levy was really…sweet. And not at all what he'd have gone after if he was still with his old guild. Not at all. What fun would there be in it? Huh? None.

So he kept it platonic. Or she did. Or there wasn't even any keeping. It was just the way things turned out. And Lily liked her enough, so it was easy to take her into their fold later. They had fun together too. Just in different ways. Just hanging out was nice. He didn't have many friends, if he was being honest with himself, and Levy and Pantherlily made him feel, well… They made him feel something. And that was all that mattered.

When the time did come though and they both found themselves as wanting more, he didn't exactly hate it. In fact, he hadn't even really taken notice of the fact that he hadn't been dating, really, at all. Or hooking up. Then again, things in Fairy Tail were always so busy, there was hardly any time for anything other than saving everyone else's asses from whatever peril the damn Salamander and his friends had brought upon them.

It was innocent enough too, when it began. The cat was busy, as he occasionally had other interests than sitting around watching Gajeel and Levy skirt around the edge of something with one another, so that left him and the shrimp alone one night to hang out. And the guild had grown stale for him, as it frequently did, so he suggested that they meet up somewhere. For dinner or something. His treat.

And he didn't realize it until he was saying something to Lily about it later, about how he was going to be busy with Levy that night and not to worry about it, that it completely and utterly sounded like a date. Which it wasn't supposed to be. At all. It was just supposed to be the two of them, hanging out, like usual.

So he shrugged it off. Figured she'd get that.

But then again, when did any of the women in the guild get anything other than confused?

Still, Levy seemed to not think much of it when they met up for dinner. He could tell, at first, that she was a little more reserved than usual, but as the night wore on, that went away. Not too unusual. For them anyhow. When it was over and he walked her back to the dormitory, she even said that they should spend more time alone together.

"What?" he grumbled almost immediately. "You don't like my cat? He smell or something?"

"No! I didn't say that." Levy was quick to say, glancing up at him, but when she caught the smirk on his lips, she made a face. "Very funny."

"I think the cat's gettin' a tad tired of us as it is," he told her truthfully. "As if there's something more interesting in this damn guild than you and me."

Her own smirk was forming then, but they were at Fairy Hills then and the night was over. For the two of them together, anyhow.

"I'd invite you in," she said, "but-"

'Yeah, yeah. Dormitory and shit." He kicked at the ground, feeling awkward for some reason. "I'll probably be takin' off on a job soon. Me and Lily. Tomorrow maybe. So, if I don't see you again for the rest of the week… This was alright. I mean, I'dda rather been jammin' somewhere, but next week, if you wanna do this again…"

"My treat next time," she said, clasping her hands behind her back as she stared up at him. "Right, Gajeel?"

With a grunt and a nod, he reached out to pat her on the head before turning to walk away. And, hate it as much as he did, he actually was looking forward to the next week then, when they got a chance to be alone again.

Which they were. For the next couple of weeks. Of course, by then, people had begun to talk.

Or at least some people had begun to talk. Three, in fact.

"Levy," Mirajane sang practically everyday they were around each other. "How was your date last week?"

She wasn't even the worst. Only because, really, Mira thought that everyone was dating. Or that they should be. That would just make her world, honestly, if everyone paired off. Even if it meant that she was left all by herself, she'd just thrive off seeing her guild mates in their own romances.

No, the worst offenders were, of course, Jet and Droy.

"I don't get, Levy, how you can go on dates with him and not one of us."

"Yeah, Jet's right," the heavier of the two would always agree. "What's so great about Gajeel?"

"Guys," she'd say and blush as the slayer in question would only growl.

"I'm right here!" he spit at them.

And they very much so weren't dating. Or at least they convinced themselves that they weren't.

"We're not," Gajeel would grumbled to Lily at times as they walked home. "And I wish that people would stop saying it."

His kitty would only snicker though, knowing he was the only one that could do so without facing the wrath of Black Steel.

He and Levy were both so good at convincing one another of this fact that they themselves didn't come to grips with it until, one day, they were out, wandering around the town, when a storm hit.

"I told ya it was gonna storm," he grumbled as the sky seemed to open up all at once, drenching all of Magnolia in it's wake. Levy was giggling though as he just frowned.

"It could be worse," she said as they ran for it.

"How?"

"Well, I don't know, Gajeel, but it could."

She was going to go all the way back to her place, but that was halfway across town and his tiny apartment he shared with Lily was literally just a block away.

"You can go home when the storm clears," he reasoned, though he could read her hesitance from a mile off. With a half sneer, he said, "I won't bite, shrimp. Promise."

Inside, Gajeel immediately headed for the bathroom, grumbling something to Levy about making herself at home. But she was dripping wet at that point and was afraid of getting water anywhere.

"You keep this place cleaner than I'd expect," she called out to Gajeel as she looked around.

"It's the damn cat," he told her through the bathroom door. "He's real meticulous, yeah?"

"I can see that," Levy agreed.

When he returned from the bathroom, he'd stripped down to his jeans and, for a moment, Levy just stared. Then she looked off, trying hard not to watch as he still used a towel to dry his chest off.

"Here," he said, tossing the one in his other hand at her. Or at least she'd thought it was a towel. When she saw what it was, she frowned.

"G-Gajeel-"

"What?" He went over to a cup that was sitting on the coffee table and, after sniffing at it, tossed it down with a big gulp. After that, he said, "You're drippin' all over the place. You gotta change into something."

"I can't…" She just stared at his shirt in her hands before back at him. But he was already walking off, into the door next to the bathroom.

"I'll find ya some shorts to wear or somethin'," he told her, all nonchalant and like it wasn't a big deal. And to him, it wasn't. If Lily came home and saw that they'd gotten water everywhere, he'd flip.

He had a tendency to stress about small things.

"Really," she said, her blush deepening. "I can just go home. I-"

"No way, shrimp." He poked his head out of what she assumed was his bedroom. "The shirt's clean if that's what you're stressin' about. What do you think I am? Some sort of slob?"

"W-Well-"

"You're stayin' till it passes." He went back into the room. "Just give me a sec to find you some shorts, huh?"

It really didn't occur to Gajeel until he was sitting on his couch, messing around on his guitar while waiting for her to come out of the bathroom, what she'd been so hesitant about. He'd thought that she just didn't want to be a bother or something equally as stupid. But when it did hit him, it hit him hard.

"Great," he mumbled under his breath as he glare down at his guitar. "Just great. I shouldda just taken her home."

"You say something, Gajeel?" he heard her call from the bathroom, where she was changing.

"Nope," he grumbled back. "Nothing."

When she returned, it was almost self-consciously. She had her arms wrapped around her chest and didn't seem like she wanted to come near him. He just kept focusing on his guitar, though he did glance up once or twice and take notice of the fact that she looked damn good in one of his black shirts and pair of shorts.

"It sounds better this way," she told him then as he finally did give her a full glance.

"Huh?"

She nodded at his guitar. "Without being plugged into an amp."

"Ha ha," he told her as, finally, she grinned some. "You know, it's kinda customary to be kind to a host."

"Kinda," she agreed, heading over to the nearest window to peek out. "Hope Lily's okay."

"Hmmm?" He frowned before rolling his eyes. "He'll be fine. Long as it don't thunder."

There weren't a lot of places for her to go, other than by Gajeel and, with a sigh, she came to sit down next to him.

"Your hair looked cute," she told him, almost giggling then. "When it was all wet."

Narrowing his eyes, he said simply, "Told you it was gonna rain. Almost think you tricked me into going out."

"Oh, yeah, Gajeel. You caught me," she said. "I wanted to get caught out in a storm so I could get drug back here."

"Knew it."

"Gajeel."

"And I don't remember a lot of draggin'," he told her as he kept picking at his guitar. "Just a lotta raining and a nice gesture."

"It was nice," she told him as she smiled slightly, her arms relaxing as they fell to her sides. "Thank you."

Nodding, he said, "'bout time you saw my place anyhow. What do you think?"

"Well," she said, glancing around. "It's…tidy."

"Ain't no library like you say you got," he told her with a shrug, "but I've lived in worse."

"Yeah," she agreed softly. "So have I."

With a glance at her, he said, "Fairy Tail ain't too bad to people like us."

"Not too bad at all."

They must have sat there for at least twenty minutes, him using his guitar as an excuse to not talk and her just listening to the storm.

"When do you think it'll let up?" she asked eventually. He just shrugged.

"You in that much of a rush to leave?"

"No," she told him with a frown. "Not at all. This is nice."

"This is boring," he corrected, shifting on the couch before moving to prop his guitar up against it and look at her. "And you know it."

'Well, what would you usually do? If I wasn't here?"

"This."

That made her smile again, just like he knew that it would. "You live a boring life then, Gajeel?"

Grunt. Then, "I ain't sitting around here much to be bored."

"You do take a lot of jobs."

"You keeping tabs on me, shrimp?"

He couldn't make her nervous that time. She just shrugged.

With a smirk of his own, he told her then, "Anything you wanna do then?"

"I'm assuming that you don't have any books," she said slowly.

"I ain't much of a reader, as you could guess."

"More like know."

Pushing up, he said, "I'm hungry. You want anything?"

"No."

"No? Of course you do. We never even got around to eatin' dinner," he said, walking off to the little kitchen area that one part of the living room opened up into. "I don't know if you know this, but I know a variety of dishes."

"Do you now?" she asked as, slowly, she got to her feet to follow him.

"Don't sound so shocked," he said. "You get raised by a dragon, you figure out how to feed yourself eventually."

Which was how Levy learned that Gajeel was the master at three meals; sandwiches with meat, sandwiches without meat, and then just meat.

"Such the chef," she complimented as they sat down once more on his couch, two beers from his fridge resting on the table then as they held their plates in their laps. "Black Steel."

"Like to see you do better," he grumbled. Still, she was smiling at him and he just felt…at ease. He so rarely had guests, after all, and was slightly unnerved. It was just Levy, fine, but at the same time it was _just Levy_.

"It's really good," she told him with a grin after she took a bite of the sandwich. "Really."

"Stop messing with me, shrimp."

"No, really. If I had to have anyone make my sandwiches, it'd be you."

"You're pushing it."

They were sitting closer to one another then, most of the tension that had built up exiting and, apparently, being replaced with insults. Hurled at him. The gracious host!

When he reached out to grab his beer, their arms touched, but neither moved to accommodate the other. The couch was so big, but, for some reason, they were sharing the center cushion.

"And now we should worry for Lily," Levy said as, even in the apartment, they felt the thunder as it shook the entire building. "Right?"

"Right," Gajeel sighed. "That cat. Ain't scared of nothin'. 'cept the one thing that can't do any harm to him."

"It's a phobia," she told him.

"Phobia, huh?"

"It's irrational," she explained. "It can't be explained. I'm sure even he doesn't understand it."

"Damn Salamander's cat ain't afraid of nothing."

"Except being without Natsu," she pointed out. "Happy has to be with him or, at least, Lucy or Lisanna. Always. And he's a lot more cowardly than Lily. So there's that."

"So that's what I keep you around for, huh?" he asked. "To remind me what a great cat I got?"

"You keep me around?" she asked, glancing at him. He shrugged and, when he moved to set his beer back down, their arms touched again. That time she didn't let it pass without comment.

"Did it hurt?" was what came out of her mouth.

"No."

"Oh."

Then he frowned. "Wait, what?"

"What?"

"Did what hurt?" he asked.

She just stared at him. "If you don't know what I'm talking about, then why did you say no?"

"Because nothing hurts me."

"Right," she sighed with an eye roll. "Then it doesn't matter, do it?"

"I guess not." But her question bothered him for some reason, prompting him to say, "Just for argument's sake though-"

"I meant all your piercings," she said. "Did they hurt?"

"No."

"Gajeel-"

'You asked," he pointed out. "And I answered. So-"

"Do you ever take them out?" she asked then. He was starting to feel uncomfortable then and shifted away from her, if only slightly.

"To clean 'em," he said. "Wouldn't want them to become infected, yeah?"

"I guess not."

That had ruined whatever mood they had going and, with a sigh, Gajeel reached for his beer again.

"You ain't thirsty?" he asked when he noticed that she hadn't even taking a sip of her own.

"Not really."

"More for me," he said after downing the rest of his. "I got some other stuff in the fridge if you'd-"

"I'm fine, thanks."

Great. They must have taken a wrong turn somewhere in the conversation. But where could that have been?

Moving to set his empty beer bottle and plate on the coffee table, he turned to face her. This got Levy's attention.

"Here," he said. "Is this what you wanted?"

"No, Gajeel, gross," she said as he started to pull one of the studs from his arm.

"What?" he complained. "I thought you wanted to see-"

"No!"

"You sure?"

"Yes, Gajeel!"

She was trying to get away from him then, as if disgusted. Or maybe creeped out. Probably both. But it was a better atmosphere than that awkward one.

"If you really are sure," he said with a slight shrug. "Just hate for you to miss an opportunity, you know?"

"Believe me," she said as she settled back into the couch. "I'll be fine."

But she was on the other side of the couch then and he wasn't sure why, but that bothered him.

"This storm is never going to stop, is it?" she complained as she went back to her sandwich and, slowly, he moved to grab his own plate once more.

"Do you want it to?"

"Well, yeah, Gajeel. I mean, I need to get home."

"Ain't that late," he told her. "Besides, ain't ya havin' fun?"

"I guess," she said. "It's just-"

"If you want to leave-"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?"

"I don't know, Gajeel. I'm not saying anything!"

This time, he knew where the conversation had gone wrong. With him. Opening his big mouth. Sigh.

"I just," he began slowly as he glanced off, over at the far wall, "don't get guests that often, okay? So I ain't too good at keeping people's interest."

"You have my interest, Gajeel," she was quick to say, though she was frowning slightly. "I'm really not that bored. And this is nice. Just hanging out at your apartment. I hope that we can do it more often."

Snorting, he said, "Why? So they can all say that we're datin' some more?"

"Who cares?" she asked. "I don't. Do…do you?"

"No," he told her stiffly. "I just-"

"I mean, I know that I'm, like, not the best one in the guild to be lumped in with-"

"What?"

Shrugging, she said, "You know. I'm…"

"You're what?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Me."

"And I'm me," he told her. "I don't get what we're saying though."

"You know," she said. "I'm not, like, Mirajane or Lucy or Erza or-"

"No," he agreed. "You're Levy."

"Gajeel."

"What?" He was still just staring at her.

"They're… Guys are always in love with them," she said. "And-"

"And you got Jet and Droy."

It was her turn to snort. "Jet and Droy are nice, but… There's a difference, you know? Between obsession and love?"

Blinking, he nodded slightly as she stared him practically in the eyes.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I guess there is."

"Besides," she said, looking off then as he glanced down at his plate. "It's more of complacency now. They've done it so long that it's hard not to-"

"You give yourself too little credit."

"W-What?"

Nodding slightly though he wouldn't look at her, he said, "They love you because you're great, shrimp. And fine, you ain't Mirajane. Who the fuck wants Mirajane anyways?"

"Try everyone?"

"I don't."

"You don't?"

Well…

To her though, he just shook his head.

"No. Erza either. And the Salamander's chick ain't all that you build her up to be."

"Lucy isn't Natsu's-" She stopped herself, turning to look at him again. "Wait, what are you saying?"

Too much. That's what.

"That out of all the other women in the guild… You're the only one that was every truly kind to me," he said. "Other than, well, Juvia, but-"

"That's not true," she told him. "Everyone was nice to you. They-"

"Not the way you were," he said with a shrug. "That's all."

"That's not all."

"Excuse me?"

Shaking her head then, she said, "That wasn't what I was talking about. No one's, like, rating me on how nice I've been to them."

"Rating you? Who's rating you, shrimp?"

"No one is the point, Gajeel."

"What do you want me to do about it? Huh? Go knock a few skulls around until you get as many unwanted advances as the others?"

"Gajeel."

"What?" He reached up to scratch at his head. "'sides, I use it. You know. Factor it in. How nice you've been to me. You're… You're the…"

"The what?"

"You're one of my friends, okay?" he told her, voice grumbling slightly. "And it makes a difference. That made a difference, I mean. How you were when I first came here. Even after I…"

"We all make mistakes, Gajeel."

Snort. "Yeah?"

"Yes," she said, slowly shifting closer to him on the couch again. His shirt was really bunchy in places, but nice. Warmer, at least, than she'd have been in what she'd had on before. "But without all of them, we wouldn't be here right now, would we?"

"But were they worth it?"

"To be here? For me they were. Everything I ever screwed up on." Then, slowly, she asked, "Was this not worth it to you?"

Instead of just answering her, he turned fully then, so that they could stare one another in the eyes. Then, nodding his head, he said, "Yeah, shrimp. You're worth it."

"I didn't say me," she told him quickly. "I-"

"I know what you said," he told her. "And I know what I said."

"I-"

"You know, shrimp," he said, moving to set his plate back on the table before shifting even closer to her. "Lookin' a little closer, I can definitely see that it just ain't how nice you are."

"Now you're full of it." She just gave him a look in response. "Seriously, I-"

"And what?" he grumbled, not moving back for even a second. "You think that I'm the best looking guy in the whole guild?"

"I didn't…"

"Who then? Huh? You into the Salamander too? You might have a problem with blondie and the dead one."

"Lisanna isn't dead and you know their names, so you shouldn't-"

"Deflecting now, are we, shrimp?"

"No," she said. "I-"

"The Master's grandson, huh? He's the one, ain't he?"

"Gajeel-"

"Or is it the stripper?"

"You're being a jerk," she said as he just held his face far too close for her comfort. But he wasn't doing to put her at ease. Not anymore. "And what about you then? What woman in the guild is the…hottest to you?"

"I think," he said as he stared her dead in the eyes, "that at this point, if you have to ask, you ain't been listening. I mean, I've made myself pretty clear."

She felt like she wasn't breathing right, but still, found herself saying back to him, "And I feel like I have too."

It was such a rush too, when he moved to kiss her. For them both, he figured. Levy clearly hesitated, but he wasn't like that. Go for it or don't even show up.

He cupped her cheek quickly, brushing a thumb over her flesh. Cold. Hmmm.

"Gajeel?" she whispered as he pulled back some. That was just to get more comfortable though. "Are-"

"Why," he mumbled as he set her plate aside too, "do you gotta analyze everything, shrimp?"

"R-Right. I just-"

"Talking is definitely affecting the rating."

"Gajeel!"

But he was grinning then. Not a smirk either. A full on grin. And when he moved to kiss her again, Levy decided to just go with it.

"How did you do that?" she whispered to him at one point, slightly spooked, when, as they both moved to lay out on the couch, the room suddenly got dark.

"I didn't, shrimp," he grumbled down at her. "Storm knocked the power out."

"O-Oh."

Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I got candles somewhere, probably. Give me a minute, huh?"

"Wait." She was the one touching his cheek then and it made him freeze. "Let's just stay here for a minute. Huh?"

Well…if she insisted…

When the power came back on rather suddenly a minute or two later, it shocked them both. Gajeel even squinted.

"Damn storm," he grumbled before slowly moving to get off the couch. Levy was sitting up then too, staring at him. "Come on."

She knew where he was headed too, as he walked over to that door he'd gone through before, to find her shorts. And even though her stomach knotted up slightly, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

He never turned on the light in his room, so she never got a good grasp on what it looked like. Just as quickly as they were in it, he was shutting the door and back to kissing her. He meant it about that go all out or don't go at all stuff. He'd been toying around with Levy for years. All that potential energy was finally kinetic and, well, he was capitalizing on it.

It was when they hit the bed, both tumbling down onto the mattress with a bounce, that Levy really pulled away from him. For a moment, Gajeel was a still as possible, as if fearful he'd finally pushed too far.

But she just moved to rest her forehead against his, grinning in the darkness as she giggled. And as he moved to run a hand down her stomach, he didn't think he'd ever been that gentle. Ever. With any woman. He always had to be in control. It was all about him. Everything. And he really, really liked to make them scream. Bruises and blood were just a given.

With Levy though, he couldn't even imagine doing the most mild of things to her. Even when he was kissing her he tried his hardest to keep it playful. Not too serious. Enough, but not crossing the line. Like she was a baby deer or something and one wrong move would make her scatter.

He'd never felt that before. It was all new. As if all his tastes and interests had been cleansed. He didn't even grab her, not once. Never made her wince or cry out. Just…stroked her side, watching her with a feint grin.

What had she done to him?

"Gajeel," she whispered as she moved to grab the hand that had moved on from her side and was working it's way down her stomach. Just as quickly though, their fingers were interlaced and she was shaking her head. "I don't… Could we not-"

"Yeah, shrimp," he whispered, holding their hands up for a moment before shaking his fingers free of hers. Moving it then, he cupped her cheek again. "This is enough. You're enough. For me."

He didn't know how long they laid around either, lazily making out. The furthest he got was his hands under her shirt, where they rested against her stomach. Even though he wanted more, he didn't force the issue. Didn't make it all about him. Because it wasn't just about him.

Huh. It wasn't just about him.

Groundbreaking.

"I don't want you to ever say it again, huh?" he whispered eventually as she rested her head against his chest, her breathing getting slower and softer. "That you're not as good as them. You're better, shrimp. We're better. Together. Okay?"

"'kay."

Gajeel had no idea when the storm ended, but it didn't matter. Because, when they both woke up, the sun was shining through his tiny window and it was morning.

"I'm sure my clothes are dry," she mumbled against his chest, which she found she was laying against. "By now."

"Mmmm," he groaned, tossing an arm over his eyes. "They need another hour."

"Gajeel-"

"You got a hot date, shrimp?" he grumbled. "Huh?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then they need two hours."

Later, when they finally did get up, Gajeel was a little freaked as to where Pantherlily was. He couldn't find him anywhere! Had he…seen them in the room together and ditched out? Maybe?

He let the shrimp catch a shower though and she was still in there when the cat showed up.

"Gajeel," he called out as he came through the front door, far too chipper for the slayer's taste. "I had the luxury of being invited over to the Strauss household last night and-"

"What?" The man was over on the couch, waiting for Levy, and frowned at Lily as he came closer. "Why-"

"It was storming and Mira could tell that I was…that I… The point is that she thought that she lived closer to the guildhall and said that she would let me stay with them for the night. I hope I didn't worry- Who is in the shower?" Then Lily grinned. "Gajeel, you-"

'No," he told him with a frown. "It's Levy."

"Really?" Pantherlily sounded shocked. "I assumed that the two of you were-"

"Nothing happened." Nothing real anyhow. "We just… It was storming and she needed a place to stay."

"And her nice room at the dorm was out of the question because-"

"Look, cat," he grumbled, getting to his feet. "You leave this to me, huh? 'fore I give you the ribbing you deserve over this being 'fraid of thunder and needing a damn barmaid to protect you stuff!"

"Hit below the belt much?"

Growling then, Gajeel got ready to say some more stuff, but then, suddenly, the shower stopped.

"At the chance of sounding like my less athletic counterpart," Lily whispered with a grin. "You _like_ her."

"We can talk later," Gajeel grumbled. By which he meant never. "Just leave it alone for now."

"Fine," Lily said, glancing at the bathroom door before walking off into the bedroom. "But I'll have you know I wasted the whole night talking you up to Mirajane and her sister both."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

With Lily safely hidden away in the bedroom, Gajeel didn't have as much to worry about when Levy came out of the bathroom. Other than, oh, the fact that he'd spent the night with probably his only real friend other than Pantherlily in the whole guildhall and more or less had come clean about the feelings for her that, truthfully, he wasn't even sure were real the other day. And you couldn't just shove that in a bedroom, now could you?

"So," Levy said slowly as he walked her to the door. It wasn't that far, really, but hey. "I'll see you later, okay, Gajeel?"

"I can walk you home," he offered. "I-"

"N-No," she said, shaking her head as still they just stood there at the door. "I-"

"Let me buy you breakfast," he offered. "Or-"

"That's okay," she said, laughing slightly then. "Really. We can just…do this again, okay? Real soon? Maybe next-"

He cut her off then with a kiss, both hands coming up to grab both cheeks and, hey, they felt warm that time. Even better.

"We," he told her as he slowly pulled away, "can do anything, at any time. Alright?"

And when she nodded, he just gave her a quick peck then before letting her go.

"Bye, Gajeel," she whispered as, after taking a breath, she moved to walk out the door. That got a grunt.

"See ya," he whispered as he shut it behind her. "Shrimp."

And even though Lily wouldn't shut up about it for hours and, when he went down to the guildhall later, Levy had managed to blab to one of the women, which made it spread like wildfire, it was worth it. All of it. And it wasn't even a mistake. It had to have been the most right he'd been in a long time.

So yeah, Gajeel had had his share of women before. And maybe he would after. But there'd never be one that captured his interest like that. One that he just wanted to be so good for. Never wanted to hurt again. Was glad just to be around, even if they weren't…

Nah. He could wait for Levy. Forever, if he had to. But, as their dates became more frequent (and yes, as they had to tell Mira repeatedly, they were officially dates) and their nights together became a constant, he knew it wouldn't be that long.

Besides, even if it was, she was worth it. The shrimp was completely worth it.

* * *

 **I don't know how it happened or why it happened, but I'm completely into Gajeel and Levy right now. Don't know for how long and don't really care. I'm not exactly hating it either.**


End file.
